The Monday Read: From the R to the J to the G

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Do we need to sit down and talk about a midlife crisis which is starting? I’ve been playing with AI a bit recently (Google’s Gemini, ChatGPT 3.5) and even though the hype seems to be dying down in the media, these things are getting better and better. I watched Daniel Priestley talk about it in […]

The Monday Read: Death to Distractions

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Last year was kind of mixed for me. I got a lot done, was able to travel more, enjoyed not having a fixed schedule, and had very little stress. But at the same time my health deteriorated and I found myself very distracted online. In particular, my smartphone use became problematic. I started playing a […]

The Monday Read: A Fork in the Road

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I’ve really struggled with my health since the pandemic. Not sure if it is long Covid or just a more sedentary lifestyle, but I feel much less healthy than I did before 2020. So far I haven’t been able to turn this around by myself. In fact, turning it around is starting to feel like […]

The Monday Read: A Time of Dragons

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Well, 2024 started off on the wrong foot! Not only was there a large and serious earthquake, it seems the government bungled the response somewhat by not taking it seriously enough at first. I hope everyone affected can get the help they need soon to get back on their feet. The main thing on my […]

2024 Planning

Happy New Year! I hope the year of the dragon treats you well. I also hope our readers in Hokuriku are safe and doing okay and can get back to normal as quickly as possible. I know from personal experience how draining recovering from an earthquake can be. Take the time you need to adjust […]

The Monday Read: 2024 Awaits

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

The end of the year, the start of the new one. They are just normal days like any other but we imbue them with meaning. In Japan the whole country shuts down from December 29th to January 3rd. People go home, spend time with family, do big cleans, and think about the future. I don’t […]

The Monday Read: Merry Christmas

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Happy holidays to one and all. I hope you are enjoying the end of the year and have some time off. I hope things are going well for you, financially and otherwise. I hope you are optimistic about the future. We had our Xmas dinner last night as usual (Christmas Eve, Spanish style) so today […]

Progress Report 2023

The Progress Continues It’s the blog post none of you have been waiting for 😉 This year once again I am publishing my personal financial progress report post. You can see last year’s post here (and follow the chain back through time if you are interested -the first was in 2017 or so). I find […]

Letting things go

as we forgive those who tresspass against us I’m pretty good at moving on. I think it is an incredibly valuable life skill. Wasting time and energy on unwinnable fights is something I have trained myself not to do. Whenever I am vexed, I try to answer four questions: Most of the time, the answers […]

The Monday Read: Consistency

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I’ve been finishing my shower with a minute or two of cold water for a year and a half now. Haven’t missed a single day other than when they wouldn’t let me shower in hospital. I’ve been doing my monthly finance spreadsheet on the first day of the month for almost ten years now. Can’t […]